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“You’re Going to Employ Women” — U.S. War Department (1943)

One of my friends has had to clean out a recently deceased relative’s home and she has found several gems, including a copy of “You’re Going to Employ Women,” a pamphlet issued by the U.S. War Department in 1943 to its personnel offices (her relative worked in personnel at the Pentagon).

During the 1940s, with so many men off to war, women needed to be hired for positions traditionally held only by men, including in industries like manufacturing. This is the era that spawned the iconic Rosie the Riveter image.

The prospect of hiring women must have struck fear into the hearts of the many men left behind. Pamphlets like the one detailed here were created to helpfully guide them through the hiring and supervising of these creatures.

My friend allowed me to snap photos of the document, which includes such gems as:

“When training women, orient her more thoroughly than a man on health and safety rules, plant layout and production company policies, job techniques.”